Chapter 8: Death and all his friends

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Don't ask questions," Mr. Weasley said sharply. "Fred, George, Ginny is your responsibility. Harry, Ron, Hermione, you all need to stick together! Head for the woods, I'll find you once we've got this under control. Bill, Charlie, you come with me."

"Arthur, what's happening?" Tonks asked calmly, in full Auror mode. Mr. Weasley turned to look at her.

"His followers. They're here."

Tonks's eyes widened. "Right. I'll come with you, I'm sure I'll find Kingsley and the rest. Cass, you go straight home. If my parents ask where I am, tell them the truth. They'll want to know. I'll be back as soon as I can be."

My head was spinning. "Of course, Tonks, of course I'll tell them. What the hell is going on?"

Before she could answer, we heard a booming noise, followed by earsplitting screams. I could see flames rising outside the tent, consuming whatever was in their path. Before I knew it, we were all running out of the tent, trying to dodge the flames that were being hurled at people from every angle.

When I emerged, I turned to get a look at what was happening. The Muggle family who ran the campground was hoisted high in the air, clearly bewitched. On the ground beneath them were hooded, robed figures, clad in masks made from what appeared to be human skulls. I knew them in an instant.

Death Eaters. Followers of Lord Voldemort. My father was one of them during the First War. I didn't know too much about his involvement with the Dark Lord, but from what I understood, he was pretty loyal to him, probably a little too loyal. I wondered if he was under one of those masks right now.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my wrist, pulling me out of my own head.

"CASS! What the hell are you doing out here?"

It was Daniel. Cedric was by his side. They were sweating, out of breath, and their faces were bloodied.

"Dan, what the hell happened? Why are you bleeding? I asked, my voice sounding a million miles away.

He shrugged. "Dodged a curse from one of the masked blokes, fell, got kicked in the head. C'mon, we have to run!"

Having no choice, I took his hand and ran with him. I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, trying to not get trampled by the thousands of sprinting, terrified people. As we ran, I felt my hand slipping out of Daniel's grasp, and no matter how hard I tried to tighten my grip, I just couldn't. My hands were too slick with sweat and I was too out of breath that my hand just slipped away from his.

I kept running, trying to catch up with them, but remembered what Tonks said.

Go straight home. If my parents ask where I am, tell them the truth. They'll want to know.

If one of us didn't come home tonight, Andromeda and Ted would be worried sick, especially if they found out later what had happened. Andromeda's sister was a powerful, loyal Death Eater who had been in Azkaban for years. For all we knew, she'd escaped and was under one of the masks, setting fire to the camp and killing whoever stood in their way.

I heard Daniel's voice, but it was muffled, like he was underwater and trying to speak.

"Cass? Where'd she go? Ced, we have to back for her- "

"Dan, we can't! She knows how to Apparate, she'll get somewhere safe."

"I don't trust her! I have no idea where she'll go! What if she gets hurt? What if she gets killed?"

Another boom, more screams. A hundred yards behind, the entire campground was engulfed in flames.

"DANIEL, WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING! CASS WILL BE FINE!"

I don't know what Daniel's response was, because I squeezed my eyes shut, thought of Andromeda and Ted's living room, and vanished into the air.

THUD!

Footsteps. Lights on. Voices.

"Cassie, what are you doing back? Are you alright?" Ted asked, his voice sleepy. "Where's Dora?"

I looked up at him. He could see my face was probably covered with dirt and my fingers had blood, Dan's blood, on them. His eyes widened. Suddenly, Andromeda appeared behind him.

"Ted, who's there- Cassie! What's happened to you? Where's Dora?" she asked, pulling me up off the ground and into a chair. She held my hands, searching my face. I picked up my head to face them both.

"After the match – Ireland won, by the way – something happened. Tonks and Arthur Weasley are helping the Ministry sort it out. She told me she'd come home as soon as possible, but said it could be a while," I said flatly.

Andromeda nodded. Ted crossed his arms.

"Right, but that doesn't explain the dirt and blood. What happened, Cassie?"

I took a deep breath and squeezed Andromeda's hand.

"Death Eaters invaded the camp. They burned the place to the ground. They cursed the Muggle family that ran the campground and they tried to kill my boyfriend. I was running into the woods, trying to escape, but Tonks told me to come straight back here and tell you two what happened…"

My voice trailed off. Andromeda looked at Ted, horrified. Before either of them could respond, a gust of cold air swept thought the room and suddenly, Tonks was standing in the kitchen, brushing off her dirty, bloody clothes and untying the Irish flag from her neck.

"It was them," she said. "You-Know-Who's followers. I don't know why they decided to terrorize the Cup, but they did. Campground's completely burned down. Kingsley and I were able to fight a dozen or so."

"What's more is that someone conjured the Dark Mark," she continued. "No one knows who it was or how they did it or how they got away. It was just hanging there in the sky, like a warning. Like his followers were marking his territory for him or trying to send a message. I'm not sure what, but it can't possibly be good."

Andromeda burst into tears.

"Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're home safe!" she exclaimed, trying to dry her eyes. "This business of you being an Auror worries me, Dora, I won't say that it doesn't, and the fact that you just spent an hour fighting off You-Know-Who's followers…"

Her voice trailed off as she dried her eyes, trying to compose herself. I turned to Tonks.

"The Death Eaters," I started. "I know they wear masks and all…but could you get a good look at any of them? Were you ever close enough that you could?" I asked.

Tonks shook her head. "I thought you might ask me that, Cass. But, no, I didn't. I promise you that if I thought I saw your dad under one of those masks, I'd tell you."

I nodded, plenty satisfied with that answer. Andromeda picked up her head.

"I guess if you didn't get a look, you probably didn't see- "

"No, Mum. I didn't see her under any of them either."

Andromeda nodded. They didn't say Bellatrix's name in their house. It was probably a force of habit, but to Andromeda, her name was about as cursed as You-Know-Who's.

After a few minutes of silence, Ted finally spoke.

"Dora, I'm glad you're home safe. You too, Cassie. I'm going back to bed, even though I probably won't get much sleep anyway. Come up whenever, Andy," he said, yawning between words. Tonks and I waved goodnight as he trudged back up the stairs. After giving us both long, tight hugs goodnight, Andromeda followed him.

Tonks and I looked at each other, wondering what to do. Suddenly, Tonks clapped her hands together and sat down next to me.

"I don't really want to think about Death Eaters right now," she proclaimed. "What I want to do is hear all about your evening with Daniel."

I chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it was rather uneventful. We talked, kissed a couple times, chatted with Cedric and his friends, then I ended up finding you guys. It was more of what we usually do at school."

Tonks frowned. "You don't seem very excited! You haven't seen him in months, you were at the Quidditch World Cup together – who knows if you'll get a chance to go again, mind you – and you play it safe all night? That's kind of dull, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was nice to just be together, I suppose. This summer I was running around London like a vagrant and he was upset that I didn't come stay with him. I just wanted everything to be perfect and normal and…well, hanging out with his friends and just talking is 'normal' for us, I guess."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Right. Normal is good. You want normal. I get that. But you didn't write to him while you were here, not once. And we get to the Cup, you see him, you talk…and then you spend the better part of the night with me and the Weasley's. Or, as I saw it last night, one Weasley in particular."

My jaw dropped. "Tonks, I hardly know Fred! He's a year below me, and I told you that I only knew him from my brief stint on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and besides, he and George are nineteen types of trouble, they can barely take themselves seriously."

She smirked and leaned back in her chair. "Fair enough! I was just curious, I don't care if you like Fred or not- "

"I don't."

"Alright, so you don't like Fred! That's all fine, but it doesn't change the fact that- "

"Tonks, I love Daniel," I said firmly. "I do. I love him. I love Daniel. And besides, going to the Cup was supposed to be our night on the town! I felt bad not spending time with you, and Charlie just happened to find me after I'd seen my father. That's all. I love Daniel. I don't even know Fred."

She smiled sympathetically at me, then stood up to leave the kitchen. "Fair enough. But if you ask me, you sound like you're trying to convince yourself that you love him. Now, I'm heading to bed, I told Kingsley that I'd be in early to help do damage control at the Ministry. If you're up in time, you fancy coffee on the porch?"

I smiled. "I do, actually. I'll see you in the morning."

She smiled, then bounded up the stairs and out of sight. As soon as she was gone, I put my head in my hands. She was right about the fact that I didn't write to Daniel when I'd moved into the house. As I search my brain for a reason why, I realized that the reason was hiding in plain sight, neon lights and bells and whistles going off in my brain, but I pushed it away. I couldn't hurt him like that, I thought. Not again, anyway.

D,

Hope you got home okay from the Cup. I'm sorry I lost you. Tonks wanted me to get home to her parents (my aunt and uncle. That's still weird to say) and tell them exactly what we saw.

I'll meet you on 9 ¾ at 10:30 sharp on Sept. 1. My parents were always late to the platform to drop us off, so getting there early = getting on the train early = not seeing them. Tell Cedric the same if he wants to sit with us.

I can't wait to see you. I miss you loads.

Love,

C.I.M.

I tied the letter to Lyra's foot and sent her on her way. It was probably a good idea to plan ahead on when and how to get to the train since I didn't want to see my family. It was also probably a good idea to show a little more interest in my relationship with Daniel.

Tonks and I didn't really talk about the Cup too much after that night. Our conversation definitely spooked me – after all, it seemed impossible that after everything, I didn't love Dan anymore. He was the reason that I was even here, the reason I left my family and took all sorts of risk in order to stay safe. After all that, I had to love him. Didn't I?

"Do you need to go get all your schoolbooks, darling?" Andromeda asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I smiled up at her.

"No, Andy, I actually got up early this morning and went to Flourish and Blotts," I said. "Growing up, my parents and Draco and I always went in the afternoon. I figured if that tradition still stood, I'd miss them if I went as soon as the shops opened."

Andromeda nodded. "I don't suppose you're ready to see them any time soon, or even just speak to them."

I shook my head. "To be honest with you, I don't really want to see them again as long as I live. I don't know if Tonks told you, but I saw my father and brother at the Quidditch World Cup."

Her eyes widened.

"My father didn't say anything when he saw me. The hair probably threw him off- "

"He probably thought you were your mother," Andromeda countered jokingly. "I remembered when Cissy first colored her hair all dark on top. She wasn't too good at the color changing charm, so the blonde and black got all muddied. Goodness, when our mother saw her…" she trailed off, giggling slightly.

I smiled. "Yeah, maybe it did. Anyway, my brother ended up coming up to me. We…spoke, I guess. Mostly he just insulted Danny and said I was a disgrace. You know, the usual."

She smiled sympathetically, holding my hand. "Trust me, darling, I'm no stranger to people's nasty comments about Muggle-borns, especially from the Black side of the family."

"Well, in any case, after hearing that from my brother and then the Death Eaters destroying the camp…I just don't want to see or hear from them anymore. They're really as good as dead to me," I said plainly. "And I know that sounds awful, but all I could think about that night at the Cup was whether my father was under one of those masks. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was. I just don't want to be associated with that anymore. I don't want to be associated with them."

Andromeda squeezed my hand. "I understand that perfectly. I do. Which is why your uncle and I want you to know that you're always welcome here, and that we really do see you as another daughter. We're so pleased that you found your way to us, Cassie. I can't tell you that enough."

I squeezed Andromeda's hand. "Trust me, your family saved me. I was living under bridges and stealing my clothes from Muggle shops. If Tonks hadn't found me, I'd probably still be under a bridge somewhere in central London."

"And for that," a voice said from the living room, "you are most welcome!"

Tonks was home early from work. She took her robes off and hung them in the closet, then pulled down her blonde ponytail so that her hair fell around her shoulders. As soon as she shut the closet, her hair was back to its usual bubblegum pink.

"You want me to go with you to 9 ¾ on Friday?" she asked me. I nodded. Andromeda and Ted didn't go near any Wizarding spaces anymore, and I knew Tonks would want to see me off for my last year at school.

"Good, that's settled," she said simply. "Since I only get you for a few more days, fancy a whiskey ginger and Ziggy?"

I nodded, grabbing the stereo and the Ziggy Stardust cassette tape from bag and darted into the backyard. The full moon was out tonight, casting a silvery glow over all the houses in the neighborhood. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. I could've sworn I heard a wolf howling, but I probably imagined it, as I would probably be hard-pressed to find a wolf in a Muggle suburb.

The door slammed shut behind me and Tonks came bounding out, handing me a drink.

"It's no Ogden's and ginger, but it'll have to do," she chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I don't even want to think about Ogden's and ginger!"

She laughed, then pressed play on the tape. "What track did we leave off on?"

"I think 'Suffragette City'?"

"Damn, that's one of the last ones!" she exclaimed.

"Well, we'll listen to it, then flip it back to side one and listen to it all again, alright?"

She nodded, sipping her drink. I put the cup to my lips and tilted my head back, listening to Bowie sing to us. The evening air was cool, and the moonlight washed Tonks's face in a white glow. I took a long, hard look at her. I can't believe that we met three months ago and she's practically my sister, I thought.

"I can't believe you're starting your last year of school," she murmured. "You scared?"

I shrugged. "Only of seeing my brother around."

She laughed. I sighed.

"I'm not really scared. I just want to have a good time with Cedric and Dan and…I just want everything to be perfect."

"That's kind of your thing isn't it?" Tonks asked me. "Wanting everything to be perfect."

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

We were silent again, the only sound being David Bowie's voice in the night air, disappearing like smoke. I wondered if the year really would be perfect. I had a feeling it wouldn't be, but I pushed it away, as I always did with all the things I didn't want to think about.

THUD!

"Cass Malfoy leave it to you to land on your arse in the middle of King's Cross Station!" Tonks cackled. We'd Disapparated from her house to the car park of King's Cross, and I hadn't had the most graceful landing, as usual.

"Yeah, yeah, it's a wonder I passed my Apparition test! Now come on, I've got to go meet Daniel," I said. We joined hands, and with my free hand firmly on my trolley, we ran for the wall, straight for Platform 9 ¾.

Daniel was waiting for me on the other side. When he saw me, his face broke into a smile.

"Hey, Cassie," he said, pulling me in for a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, you," I said, smiling back. I love him. I love him.

Tonks smiled as she watched us. I turned back to Dan.

"Give me just a few minutes," I said. "Save me a spot in our car?"

"Sure thing," he said. "Good to see you again, Tonks!"

"You too, Dan!" she exclaimed, waving goodbye. When he was out of sight, she turned back to me.

"You have all your crap?" she asked.

I nodded. "If I forgot anything, your mum said she'd have you send it by owl."

She raised her eyebrows. "Did she really? I swear, it's like she's got another daughter in the house.

I shook my head, laughing. "I don't mind it. She's like the mum I wish I had. And you're the cool, older sister I wish I had, too."

She smirked. "The one who gets you tipsy and saves you from getting arrested? That sounds like sister behavior to me. Now, get in here before I start crying."

I gave her a big hug and didn't let go for a few minutes. The few weeks we spent together flew by in the blink of an eye. I was sad I wouldn't get to see her, or Andy or Ted, until Christmas. Suddenly, the train horn brought me back to Earth.

"Alright, you better go before the train leaves without you!" Tonks exclaimed, stepping away from me. "Just promise me one quick thing, cousin?"

"Anything."

She leaned in close to whisper in my ear. "Figure out how you feel about Daniel. And if you can't do that, at least figure out how you feel about a certain troublesome Weasley boy."

My eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about, Tonks, really- "

"GO! YOU'LL MISS THE TRAIN!" she exclaimed, laughing for the whole platform to hear. I waved one final time and took off for the train. Seventh year at Hogwarts, here I come.

I ended up finding Daniel in a car near the back of the train, sandwiched between Cedric and Annamaria Dickensen.

"Look who decided to finally join us!" Cedric said, giving me a hug as I got into the car. I threw my bag down at my feet and landed clumsily next to Daniel on my seat.

"So, you heard about the thing happening at Hogwarts this year?" Daniel asked me. I shook my head.

Cedric smiled. "Apparently some special event is happening, a tournament that hasn't happened in, like, a hundred years or something? Apparently other schools are involved, supposedly it fosters 'magical cooperation' or something to that effect."

I cocked an eyebrow. "So, we get to watch a sporting event and make friends with witches and wizards from other schools?"

Cedric shrugged. "The making friends part, yes. I'm not so sure it's a sporting event. From what I've heard, it's going to be intense."

"Can students enter?" I asked. "If they can, I'll be throwing my hat in the ring."

Daniel's face fell. "You don't even know what it is and you're already ready to enter?"

I laughed. "Of course, I would! I mean, the chance to meet and compete in potentially dangerous tasks against other students, eternal glory, the possibility of my father dancing a jig if I did, in fact, die…it sounds exactly like my cup of tea."

Dan rolled his eyes. I could tell her didn't approve of my hypothetical entry into this hypothetical tournament. Suddenly, the door to our car opened up.

"Dan? I thought that was you!" said a girl with shiny, dark hair in a braid down her back. She spoke with a lilting, Scottish accent, and her eyes were shrouded in thick, dark lashes.

Dan smiled and sat up. "You have a nice holiday, Cho?"

"Can't complain. Practiced a bit of Quidditch, got to visit the Ministry with my mum a few times, nothing too spectacular. How about you?"

"Nothing too spectacular either. The highlight was probably the World Cup- "

"Which he attended with me, his best mate," Cedric cut in, his cheeks turning rosy as he smiled up at Cho Chang. She blushed.

"Hi, Cedric," she said quietly. "You have a nice holiday too?"

Cedric smiled. "Not bad, I'd say."

She smiled at him, a wide smile that showed off her straight, white teeth. She turned back to Daniel.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi. I'm sure I'll see you a little later, once we're at school?" she asked. Dan nodded.

"I'll see you at dinner, then," she said, before turning to smile at Cedric one more time and disappearing from our car.

Cedric leaned back in his seat, obviously flustered. I leaned in close.

"You and the Ravenclaw Seeker, eh?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I see it, Diggory. I see it. And by the looks of it, she sees it too."

"Relax, Cho and I don't really know each other that well," he said.

"But you'd like to change that, yes?" Dan asked, clearly trying to badger him for an answer.

Cedric blushed again. "Yeah, alright, I would."

Dan reached into his bag and pulled out a special edition of The Daily Prophet. "Turn to page seven. Special interview with the Tutshill Tornadoes. They're her team. Ask if she's seen it, or better yet, give it to her."

Cedric's eyes widened. "Daniel Josiah Light, you're the best mate in the world," he said, snatching the paper from Dan's hands and exiting the car, taking off in the direction Cho was headed just a few minutes earlier. I laughed.

"You're a great boyfriend, a great wingman, is there anything you can't do, Light?" I asked him.

You love him. You love him.

"No, I don't suppose there is," he said, leaning in for a kiss. Annamaria rolled her eyes and got up to leave the car. As I watched her go, Dan turned my face back toward him and kissed me again, this time more intensely and with a bit more tongue.

"Don't you get any ideas now that we're alone," I said teasingly.

"Cassiopeia Isolde Malfoy, I have no idea what you're talking about," he whispered, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me across his lap, and kissing me again, his fingers tangled up in my hair.

As I reached up to cup his chin in my hands, I closed my eyes and let my mind melt away. You love him. You love him. You love him.

"So, let me get this straight: your mother has another sister, one you didn't even know about until…three months ago?" Dan asked, popping an Every Flavor Bean into his mouth before promptly spitting in out.

I nodded. "Apparently. There's this big family tree in my great-uncle's house that has, like, every Black family member since the beginning of time on it. Andromeda's face is blasted off of it. I remembered asking my mum what happened to her and never getting a straight answer. Now I know why, I suppose."

Dan nodded. "And her daughter is your cousin?"

"Yeah, but she's more like my sister. At least, I like to think of her as my sister."

He nodded again. "You said her husband's Muggle-born, right?"

"Yup. Ted Tonks. He's the best."

It was quiet for a few minutes after that, Dan eating the beans and making various disgusted faces and me sucking on a strawberry Sugar Quill. After about ten minutes, Dan put his carton of beans down.

"Can I ask you something?" he said slowly.

"Sure, anything," I responded.

He gulped. "Do you think we're like your aunt and uncle?"

I almost choked on my quill but composed myself. "How do you mean?"

"I mean," he began. "Do you think we'd, you know, have a chance the way they did? Making it on their own after being cast out by one side of the family?"

My mind went blank. I hadn't really thought about it. I wasn't really even sure that Dan was my Ted, probably because we hadn't even been together for a year. We still had so much to learn about one another, and so much to figure out on our own.

"I don't know," I said carefully. "Maybe."

He sat back. "Oh…really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, Ted and Andy knew from the very start that they wanted to be together- "

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Shit. I probably shouldn't have led with that

"Well, it means that they knew each other for a while, they'd been together for a while and they knew that if they took the risk, if she took the risk of telling her family, that they were in it for the long haul," I said, even more carefully. "If she was going to be cast out, she and Ted were for sure going to be cast out together."

Dan stared at me blankly. "Are you saying you don't know if you want to be with me for the long haul?"

"No, Dan, shit. That's not what I'm saying," I said, my voice low and clearly exasperated. "Look, I'm saying that we haven't even been together for a year, there's still so much that hasn't happened to us and for us and- "

"I love you, Cass," he blurted out. "I love you. I don't know why that's not enough."

"It is enough, Dan! Look, I'm sorry I can't say that I want to marry you right now because I don't know if I want to marry you, we're seventeen- "

"That's not what I'm saying!" he yelled. "I just want to know if you saw us making it the way your aunt and uncle did. Now I have my answer."

I put my head in my hands, clearly unable to stop what I'd started. Dan picked up his bag, his candy, and his cat Orpheus and started for the door of the car.

"Where the hell are you going?" I asked.

"To find Cedric," he muttered. "I'll see you when we get to school."

"Dan, please don't do this- "

"Cass…just take the next few hours to figure out if you even want to be with me anymore. I think you need it."

And with that, he shut the door of the car and stalked off.

After about ten minutes, my face was still frozen in the same shocked expression from when Dan left the car.

I felt awful. I'd made it known that I was uncertain about our future and he...did not take it well. The one thing I didn't want was to hurt Daniel even more, and I'd already royally fucked that up.

On the other hand, a tiny sliver of me felt relieved. Maybe he'd already done what I didn't have the nerve to do, I thought. Maybe it's over and I don't have to worry about being the one to do it. We're clearly on different pages. I'll always love him, but probably not in the way he wants me to.

God, I didn't want to think about it. Boyfriend or not, Daniel cared for me. He knew the real me, and now I just felt alone. Thankful that the car was empty, I put my head back in my hands and started to cry softly, hiding my face in my robes as the tears landed in the palms of my hands.

Suddenly, the door to the car flew open.

"George, I'm telling you – oh, sorry, didn't know anyone was in here," a voice muttered.

"You didn't see the crying girl curled up in the corner of the car?" I shot back, turning around to face whoever was there.

There, standing in the doorframe of the car, was Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and their friend Lee Jordan. Fred's eyes widened as he realized it was me.

"You alright, Malfoy?" he asked quietly. "You want us to go?"

I eyed him carefully. His usually grinning face was stuck in a frown, his ginger brow furrowed and his eyes full of concern. He looked genuinely worried.

I knew it probably wasn't a good idea to invite him in, but I was due for a laugh. A laugh and nothing more, I thought to myself.

"I'm just grand, Weasley," I said, wiping my eyes so that George and Lee wouldn't see. "You boys want to come in?"

They looked at each other, then nodded at me. I moved my bag and candy off the seat, making room for the three boys to come in and sit. Fred took his place next to me, his legs hitting mine as he landed in the seat.

"You wouldn't happen to have any Ogden's and ginger in that bag, would you Malfoy?" he asked jokingly.

"I don't even want to think about Ogden's and ginger for a long, long time, Weasley," I muttered, attempting to hide my smile.

"Yeah, until the first Quidditch match of the season!" Lee remarked. "If Slytherin wins, I have it on good authority you'll be on a table in the common room busting a move to the Bee Gees."

I rolled my eyes. "And whose authority is that, may I ask? If it's one of the Notts or Jermaine Pucey or Annabelle Greengrass- "

"I'm only joking, Cass," Lee said, pulling his dreadlocks into a low ponytail. "Besides, Gryffindor's going to win that first match, so you'll probably just be drowning your sorrows."

"That's no different than what I usually do," I said. The three boys laughed, and I smiled. How cute, I thought. They think I'm kidding.

Time flew by when you were with the Weasley's and Lee. After about twelve rounds of Exploding Snap and listening to George talk about his and Fred's idea for a joke shop, we'd finally pulled into Hogsmeade Station. When I went to pick up my bag, I ended up dumping about seven Sugar Quills on the ground.

"Here, let me- "

"No, Fred, I've got them- "

"Really, Cass, you missed – OW!"

My head collided with Fred's as we both went to pick up the last green apple Sugar Quill.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he winced. I giggled. He handed me the Sugar Quill and I took it, my thumb accidentally brushing his index finger.

Suddenly, I was overcome with this hotness all over my body, this feeling that told me that our accidental touching of hands was wrong, but that I wanted it to happen again.

"I'll see you during dinner?" Fred asked, bringing me back to earth.

"Oh, yeah," I said distractedly. "See you."

He winked, then headed for the exit. When I followed, I wandered down the platform to where the carriages would be, searching for Daniel. I scanned each one, searching for him. I couldn't find him anywhere.

After a futile search, I climbed into a carriage with Annabelle Greengrass, Jermaine Pucey, and Maria St. James. I smiled at Annabelle, another one of my oldest friends.

"Good holiday, Cass?" she asked, her green eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, not bad. You?"

"Not bad," she said. "Listen, I heard about what happened- "

"Belle, I really don't want to talk about it. Not here, at least."

She looked taken aback. "You sure?"

I smiled sadly. "Yeah. I'm not even sure we're together anymore. More on that later, alright?"

She nodded, then took my hand in hers. I smiled at her gratefully, and we took off down the path, headed for the start of our seventh year.